Leon Marchand is steadily becoming one of the biggest names in the swimming world—so much so that his events are being prioritized over breaking news segments. Heading into the Paris Olympics, Marchand had high expectations to meet. Once the events began, the French swimmer started racking up gold medals one after the other. By the end of the tournament, Marchand had secured gold in all four of his individual events. As if that weren’t enough, he also took home a bronze medal in the 4x100m medley relay.

Naturally, a swimmer winning four gold medals in a single Olympic outing is an extraordinary achievement. The last swimmer to accomplish a similar feat was Michael Phelps. Now, under the invaluable guidance of Phelps’ former coach, Bob Bowman, Leon Marchand has risen as a dominant force in the turquoise waters. Eager to continue his electrifying form, the 22-year-old has recently arrived in Shanghai. Back in France, the hype is once again reaching its peak

Leon Marchand takes over the French broadcast

Leon Marchand is aiming for the hefty prize money of $100,000 at the ongoing World Cup. According to the announcement, the top-performing swimmer at the World Cup will be entitled to an extra financial boost. Well, while it is a long way to go, the initial signs are looking ominous for Marchand. Competing in his very first race, the Olympic gold medalist breezed his way through the waters to nudge ahead of his competitors in the 100m IM category. Marchand clocked 50.65s to secure his maiden gold medal this year.

While it will be interesting to see how many gold medals Marchand can end up with, French media is already making it seem special. During his race, French news channel, France 2 Newscast, decided to stop their news broadcast midway to telecast the Olympic gold medalist’s race that lasted for less than a minute. This is a huge deal for swimming as previously, the sport of swimming did not get much importance, let alone being televised live in the middle of breaking news.

And moments like these are bound to come in large numbers in the future. As per Marchand’s mentor, Bob Bowman, the 22-year-old swimmer will be trying some new things in the ongoing World Cup. Reflecting on his star pupil’s journey post-Paris, Bowman stated, “I think you’ll see in the World Cups that he’ll play with different events and see what happens… I think he’s definitely going to look at not just doing the 400 IM full go this year.” 

Sadly, Bowman will not be there to guide Marchand in person. Taking up the role of coaching the Texas Longhorns, the Olympic champion will have to do without his mentor till the end of 2024. But he will be working closely with Nicolas Castell, who has received regular inputs from Bowman. Thus, with all the buzz around Leon Marchand getting higher, fans have been left stunned by the growing popularity. 

Fans go wild over Leon Marchand’s special television segment

Getting featured live in the middle of a news segment is something that is completely alien for the swimming fans. Witnessing almost a miracle unfold in front of their eyes, fans could not contain their excitement as they flocked to the comment section. 

One fan threw light on the growing fame of Leon Marchand in France. A major French news channel interrupted its broadcast to air Leon’s 100m IM race, which lasted for less than a few minutes. Such a level of attention to a swimming event was previously quite uncommon in the state of France. Reflecting on the same the fan wrote, “The France 2 newscast which is doing a special edition to broadcast Léon Marchand’s first post-Olympic race. For not even a minute. We really are on another planet here!” This also highlights how high the ‘Marchand-fever’ has reached for the French fans.

One fan referred to the impeccable achievements and shared a personal opinion mentioning Marchand might have been unfairly accused of doping if he had been a cyclist instead of a swimmer (probably referring to the scrutiny faced by successful athletes like Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar). “If he were a cyclist some would say he was doped. A nod to the Slovenian champion. Léon Marchand is an excellent sportsman”, wrote the netizen. 

Such an opinion also reflects upon the common perception that extraordinary performance in sports often raises suspicions. More so in cycling, which has a history of doping controversies. The X user also acknowledged Marchand’s excellence and hinted that his raw talent should not be questioned due to the stigma surrounding high achievement in sports.

The rarity and significance of Leon Marchand’s televised race during a breaking news segment garnered huge responses from fans. And this also proves how unprecedented it is for swimming to receive such attention. Mentioning the same one fan commented, “But Léon Marchand becoming a legend like that is crazy, since when do they broadcast swimming on the news?” 

Traditionally, swimming events have been overshadowed by other sports in media coverage, but it is Marchand who is single-handedly taking over other sports to bring swimming to the frontline. Moreover, it was only Marchand’s dash which was focused on by the media. This further proves the fact that it is more about Leon Marchand than the sport that the media channels are focussing on.

Highlighting the excitement surrounding Leon Marchand’s televised race one fan mentioned how they chose to watch the broadcast on France 2 during a meal at a restaurant instead of ignoring their phone. “I usually leave my phone aside when I’m at a restaurant, but because of Léon Marchand’s errand, we tuned into France 2 in the middle of a meal. 🙈 😁”, stated the commenter. The way Leon Marchand has been taking over the aquatic world, it is pretty normal for fans to choose the race over any delicacy.

Another swimming enthusiast expressed joy that Marchand’s performance has the capacity to disrupt regular programming, signaling his rising status in the sport. The user wrote, “A race by Léon Marchand on France 2 is a great reason to be happy”. This reflects the broader enthusiasm and support for Marchand as he continues to excel, especially after winning multiple gold medals at the Olympics and then coming back in the World Cup to declare his power yet again.

Thus, with Marchand continuing to make further ripples in the swimming community, it remains to be seen how fast he can attain his goal of becoming the ultimate swimming legend of modern times after Michael Phelps.